Portable Tray Table for Kids from Bambinos!
When Gavin was a younger toddler we never left home without our booster seat for the table. With it’s removable tray, as a baby he could sit in it on the floor, or we could attach it to any dining room chair of the house we visited to play or eat, that is until he grew out of it.
In our home we have both a dining room table and a breakfast bar on an island in our kitchen. With all of the action occurring generally in the kitchen, Gavin has wanted to sit there for mealtimes and arts and crafts activities. However, the chairs we have never supported a booster seat safely and he’s always made a bit of a mess while he tries to eat sitting on his knees or knocking plates and cups over because he’s lying on top of the counter. If I had a dollar for everytime I told him to “eat over the bowl,” I’d be rich.
As an occupational therapist, one of the ways I often encourage families to develop healthy eating habits for kids, especially if they are picky eaters, is to set-up a consistent eating space, and dine with them, even if you only have a small portion while you wait for your spouse to return home and eat more later.
Bambinos! recently sent their Tidy Table Tray with Flex-Diner for us to review. I wish I had this portable tray table years ago, it has been perfect for containing messes on our kitchen island where Gavin is eating and I’m not nagging him as much to “eat over the bowl,” because it defines his eating space and seems to catch most of the mess.
It’s a plastic tray that clips easily onto the kitchen table or the edge of our breakfast bar. The flexi-diner is a green, removable tray that is dishwasher safe. On it there is an imprint of where the plate and utensils should be placed, and a smaller circle for kids to place their drinks. The outer rim of the tray is tall, so it contains spills on the tray. The flexi-diner also has a tall lip in front of the child that helps to catch dropped food without it hitting their lap. The item itself is BPA & Pthalate free.
This green top tray is top-rack dishwasher-safe and easy to remove and clean. The large clip that supports the tray to our counter is easy to open. The tray also remains securely in place when he’s eating. Now that he’s outgrown the booster seat, it’s a great item to take along to family houses for holiday meals because of it is lightweight and easy to transport. It’s definitely an item I’d recommend for grandparents to purchase, possibly instead of a high-chair, to keep in their homes for their grandchildren to use when visiting.
Bambinos! provided this item free to facilitate this review, any additional opinions are my own.